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Whole vs Partial - What's the difference?

whole | partial |

As adjectives the difference between whole and partial

is that whole is entire while partial is existing as a part or portion; incomplete.

As nouns the difference between whole and partial

is that whole is something complete, without any parts missing while partial is a partial derivative: a derivative with respect to one independent variable of a function in multiple variables.

As an adverb whole

is in entirety; entirely; wholly.

whole

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Entire.
  • :
  • *1661 , , The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
  • *:During the whole' time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the ' whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant
  • *
  • *:Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging.He walked the whole way, walking through crowds, and under the noses of dray-horses, carriage-horses, and cart-horses, without taking the least notice of them.
  • *, chapter=16
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly, about anything.”}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=28, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= High and wet , passage=Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages.}}
  • Sound, uninjured, healthy.
  • :
  • *1939 , (Alfred Edward Housman), Additional Poems , X, lines 5-6
  • *:Here, with one balm for many fevers found, / Whole of an ancient evil, I sleep sound.
  • (lb) From which none of its constituents has been removed.
  • :
  • Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (colloquial) In entirety; entirely; wholly.
  • I ate a fish whole !

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something complete, without any parts missing.
  • An entirety.
  • Meronyms

    * part

    Derived terms

    * as a whole * go the whole hog * make whole * on the whole * out of whole cloth * the whole nine yards * whole shitting match * whole shooting match * whole ball of wax * whole-hearted * wholemeal * whole number * whole step * wholesome * whole-wheat

    Statistics

    *

    partial

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Existing as a part or portion; incomplete.
  • So far, I have only pieced together a partial account of the incident.
  • (computer science) Describing a property that holds only when an algorithm terminates.
  • It's easy to prove partial correctness, but it's not obvious that it is also totally correct.
  • Biased in favor of a person, side, or point of view, especially when dealing with a competition or dispute.
  • The referee is blatantly partial !
  • * Alexander Pope
  • a partial parent
  • Having a predilection for something.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
  • not partial to an ostentatious display

    Antonyms

    * (biased) impartial

    Derived terms

    * impartial * impartiality * impartially * partiality * partially * partial to

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (mathematics) A partial derivative: a derivative with respect to one independent variable of a function in multiple variables.
  • (music) An overtone or harmonic.
  • (dentistry) dentures that replace only some of the natural teeth
  • Anagrams

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